(one of the greatest heart attacks I ever received)
Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters. It is a privilege to speak today, especially surrounded by these wonderful sisters. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to serve with them and I have much to learn from each of them.
(As Kiera mentioned,) we decided as a presidency to speak on Charity. As I began writing, I took a gander in the topical guide and was surprised at the number of references to the scripture, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.”
In His last private moments with his disciples, while time was quickly fading, just before He would perform the greatest act of love we will ever know, the Lord said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” In teaching, he repeats the basic concept three times. “Love one another.” How important is this commandment? During April Conference, besides the sustaining, and the statistical reports, there are only three or so talks that do not dwell on the topic of service, charity, or love. It consistently remains one of the greatest commandments.
In the talk “Followers of Christ,” given by Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, he teaches “We follow Christ because we love Him. When we follow the Redeemer out of love, we are following His own example. Through love the Savior was obedient to the will of the Father under any circumstance. Our Savior was obedient even when it meant great physical and emotional pain, even when it meant being whipped and mocked, even when it meant that His enemies would torture Him while His friends abandoned Him. The atoning sacrifice, which is unique to the mission of the Savior, is the greatest expression of love ever. “The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
President Uchtdorf also explained, “It has been my experience that some of the most powerful promptings we receive are not only for our own benefit but also for the benefit of others. If we are thinking only of ourselves, we may miss some of the most powerful spiritual experiences and profound revelations of our lives….Brothers and sisters, we each have a covenant responsibility to be sensitive to the needs of others and serve as the Savior did- to reach out, bless, and uplift those around us.”
This is what we are all about. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is centered on the Savior and His ability to save each of us. We each want to be a follower of Christ and receive those powerful spiritual experiences that will change us. With the great number of people on this earth, we are able to be instruments in His hands and do physically what He cannot. Among his teaching to the Romans, Paul reminds them of the commandments such as thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, but the line that catches my attention completely says, “and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” All other threads of the Gospel tie into this commandment because the Gospel belongs to Jesus Christ. What better example of pure love can we find anywhere than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends. Every part of his ministry was for the welfare of our souls. So should it be with us.
Go back to the basics. As primary children we learn that we are children of God. Every person who has or ever will live on this earth is a child of God. As such, we are brothers and sisters. We are established in families with others that we care about and love. We are required to show love to all those we meet because they are children of God too. God is no respecter of persons. He loves everyone more than we can understand. We love the Lord and desire to become perfect, even as He is. To be worthy of the great sacrifice made for us, we must be His hands in this world.
Everything that we teach, everything that we do is showing love in one form or another. Think of missionary work. Think of bearing testimony. Think of the humanitarian aid we provide. Home and Visiting teachers, Tithing, temple work, giving blessings through the power of the priesthood, etc. Jesus Christ lived for others. He lived for us. Never did He put his will before his neighbor. There is a reason why every mention of this great commandment to love one another is followed closely by the commandment to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” and become perfect even as he is perfect.
We all know the story of the good Samaritan, a man who helped not only his neighbor, but his enemy. This Samaritan bound the beaten man’s wounds, placed him on his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. He went out of his way to care for his brother. While talking to my mother, I was reminded of my own good Samaritan. A few years ago, I was moving into camp for the summer. For one reason or another, the only car at home was my sister’s. It was older and a bit broken down but we thought we could take it up Big Cottonwood Canyon. My mom, my sister and I loaded the trunk with my belongings and headed up, only to overheat the engine a little more than halfway. We were completely stranded. After a brief prayer, a large white pickup truck pulled up alongside us and asked if we needed any help. Explaining the situation, this stranger took time out of his busy schedule and helped us get to camp. After my belongings were unloaded, he drove my mom and my sister home and made arrangements for a tow truck, while the entire time he claimed it was his pleasure to help. He is the epitome of a modern day good Samaritan.
The more I thought of examples to share, the more I was impressed how many times we show charity without thinking to ourselves, “I am going to show charity today.” When hearts are filled with the pure love of Christ, they respond to needs quickly and effectively. For example, turn to Genesis 24 and the story of Rebekah. Minding her daily tasks, she came across a stranger by the well where she had traveled to draw water. The man requested a drink of water. She quickly came to his aid, drawing water not only for him but also for his camels. Little did she think, I am such a wonderful person, Look at this charity. No, she offered an act of simple service, from which was born a family of great influence for whole dispensations.
A more modern example lies within the young sisters of my family’s ward. My younger sisters just came home from girls camp. There was great question whether my youngest sister would be able to go. For those who don’t know my family’s history, we spent many months in the hospital due to surgery complications. We didn’t know at the time if she would walk, or talk, or be able to maintain the life she had established. Through a lot of work and many good Samaritans, she has been able to return to a life close to the one she lived before. Still, my parents hesitated and wondered if it was a good idea to send her. The leaders did all in their power to take care of any situation that might arise. Every night, the assigned “nurse” for the camp would call my mom and report on how things were going and it struck my heart to know that the other girls were tripping over themselves to be of service to Carrie. I love these young girls for their good works and the charity they possess. They truly are witnesses of the Savior and proved to me that the more love you show, the better life will be.
Elder Marvin J. Ashton beautifully observed: Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.
Being human, and having the capacity to make mistakes, how do we do as Elder Ashton teaches? We put Christ first. Sister Parkin, General Relief Society President in 2003, said: We start each day kneeling in prayer to our Father in Heaven, we hear His words through daily scripture study, and we follow the guidance we receive. We put Christ first, restoring charity’s circular love. “We love Him because He first loved us.” This is the reciprocating cycle of charity and charity never faileth.
Charity is the pure love of Christ. President Spencer W. Kimball said it perfectly: The Savior’s gifts were rare ones; eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, and legs to the lame; cleanliness to the unclean, wholeness to the infirm, and breath to the lifeless. His gifts were forgiveness to the repentant, hope to the despairing. His friends gave him shelter, food and love. He gave them of himself, his love, his service, his life. We should strive to give as he gave. To give of oneself is a holy gift.”
I ask you, what have you done today to show love to one another? What could you do today? As is sung in a favorite hymn: Have you done any good in the world today? Have you helped anyone in need? Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.
I know this to be true. I have seen it in my own life. I have been the recipient of such love more times than I can count. I have been blessed when I look outside myself and care for others. I thank the Lord that he provided such a commandment that we are able to become like him by doing simple acts of kindness and by simply showing love. I am learning time and again that there is no limit on the amount of love one heart can possess. When we give of ourselves, we find joy. Men are that they might have joy. I am thankful for my Savior that showed such intense love for me. I know that it is our purpose in life now to live for Him and in a small way repay his sacrifice by caring for His children.
… in the name…
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